Riku meets Rikku?
by yukito the NM Syndromer
Summary: At then end of KH, Riku finds himself on the world of Spira, and he starts a new adventure with Rikku.
1. Default Chapter

Riku Meets…Rikku?

yukito the NM Syndromer

mewprout@yahoo.com

y.NM.S: Okay, this just popped into my head when I was listening to Ayumi Hamasaki's 'Fly High, Saturation Remix' and scrolling through the Final Fantasy X section. So 'scuse me if there doesn't seem to be much of a plot to it yet, or if it's not that good. I'm merely using this so I can procrastinate on my other fics. ^_^

Riku: You're horrible. 

y.NM.S: Glad you noticed.

Okay, as a reminder, here are the two Rik(k)u's

Riku: Kingdom Hearts, male

Rikku: Final Fantasy X, female

Just so you don't get confused.

Disclaimer: I don't own Riku or Rikku or any of the games they appear in. I don't even own the computer I type on now. It's my moms.

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            Riku groaned and sat up, shielding his eyes from the blinding golden sun.

            "W-Where…" The last thing he remembered was talking to Mickey. They had decided to split up and lock the worlds found behind the giant doors of Kingdom Hearts. Riku stood, his sore body protesting strongly with a fresh wave of pain. The Heartless had taken more out of him than anticipated.

            He was on a beach with clear blue waters and pale yellow sands, much like Destiny Island. For a moment he actually believed he was back home before realizing that none of his surroundings were familiar. The plants were foreign and the round island where he had often sparred with Sora was gone. 

            "…Alright…?" Riku raised his head, staring at a young girl he hadn't noticed approaching. "Are you alright?" Her voice came in clearer, but Riku's world was still darkening. "Hey!" Her surprised voice was the last thing he heard before collapsing once more.

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            Rikku studied the odd silver haired boy, who was currently resting on her bed. The spunky Al Bhed girl had bandaged any wounds that didn't heal with a few Hi-Potions. He wasn't like anyone Rikku had seen before. From a distance he seemed normal enough, even with the hair, but upon closer inspection he appeared to be full of sorrow, pain…and something else.

            Anger, perhaps?

            Rikku was jolted out of her thoughts as his lips parted and he let out a low groan, eyes opening to set on her. She grinned cheerfully.

            "Hey. You feeling better?" Riku studied her for a brief moment before twisting away from her and closing his greenish-blue eyes, head turned.

            "Go away." His voice was so quiet that if Rikku had not been so attentive, she might have missed it. She pouted, and crossed her arms in a stubborn gesture.

            "Well, that's not nice. I could've just left you out there to die."

            Riku stirred, turning to look into her swirled eyes. "Why didn't you?" Rikku blinked. It seemed a simple question, but under his intense gaze she found it harder to answer.

            "Uh," she started, faltering only slightly, "I guess I couldn't have if I wanted to. It's in my nature to help others. My brother always said I was too nice." She smiled, pleased that she had gotten it out without choking.

            "Brother? Where is he?" Her smile faded.

            "Dead." Riku could tell she was trying not to cry in front of him, a complete stranger.

            "Oh…sorry…" 

            Rikku shook her head, standing up, "Nah, it's okay." She walked across the room to the door and stopped, having opened it halfway. "Um, dinner will be ready in a little while." She glanced over her shoulder. Riku nodded, and she left the room. The pale boy sighed and turned onto his side to stare dully at the white wall. His Keyblade sent him a questioning message, and he summoned it, holding the weapon in his hand.

            "Yes, we will seal the Keyhole. Don't worry." His Keyblade sent a comforting feeling, and Riku fell asleep.

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            Rikku bustled noisily about her kitchen, pulling out various foods and ingredients. This was the first time she had company over since Wakka and Lulu, and she wasn't going to mess up on dinner. She winced, remembering how she had set fire to Wakka's head and nearly blown up the oven.

            "Oh, well!" She shrugged and went back to cooking. The air in the room became thicker and tenser, but the subtle change in atmosphere went unnoticed. Rikku tipped over a jug of milk, and stooped down to wipe it up, and saw movement from the corner of her eye. Jumping into a fighting stance, the blonde girl lashed out at a small black figure that rose from the floor. It took the blow as if it were nothing, and jumped up, slashing across her arm with sharp claws.

            Rikku yelped in pain, cradling her injured arm as more of the devious creatures appeared, hungry yellow eyes shifting around as they twitched.

            The Al Bhed gulped. "Oh crap."

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            Riku jolted from his sleep and was up in a moment, looking about. A shrill scream had woken him up. Rikku suddenly barged through the door and slammed it shut behind her. Riku raised an eyebrow at her heavy breaths and pale face, and then saw the crimson staining her clothes and skin.

            "What happened?!" He rushed forward, casting a Curaga spell on the wound. Rikku panted, but looked to be in nothing worse that shock.

            "S-shadows…" she choked out. "Monsters in kitchen…" Riku narrowed his eyes. Shadows had followed him? He felt like kicking himself.

            Of course! He still had the Keyblade in his grasp, and they could easily track him.

            "Wait here," Riku commanded, rushing through the door and downstairs.

            "Wait!" Rikku pushed herself up. He was still in no condition to fight, and those things had been impervious to her violent assault. What chance did he have with…

            A giant key?

            "Wait!" she called again before running after him.

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            Booya! I thought that was pretty good. My first chapters are normally really boring and just have a lot of talking, but this one's actually got fighting in it! And I typed it up in, like, half an hour. Go me!


	2. It Gets Confusing

Riku Meets Rikku

mewprout@yahoo.com

yukito the NM Syndromer

y.NM.S: Thanks go to aer-seph4eva, MoonBlueLX, crystal-chan, Molly-chan the Anime/Game fan, and Mellinia for sending in such nice reviews! I probably wouldn't have written the next chapter so quickly (seeing as I have so many other stories to finish), but here it is!

Riku: Oh, goodie. More horrid situations for you to put me in.

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            Riku stared down the seven Shadows that rummaged through the kitchen. Their antennae twitched and they looked back to Riku, having sensed his heart. Some sank down into the floor, to slither behind him while the others surrounded his front side. The Keyblade sent out a warning signal, and it reverberated through their spines, chilling the heartless creatures with an omen of pain. Rikku finally made it down and burst into the kitchen.

            "Riku!" The Shadows decided that the Keyblade's message was to remain unheeded, and leapt at the silver-haired boy. Riku knocked one back with the hilt of the blade, then spun and slashed three more. They exploded into wisps of dark purple and black smoke. One managed to land on his back and sunk its sharp, jagged teeth into his shoulders. He blasted it away with a Firagra spell, and quickly casted a Cure on his wound. Rikku watched the battle continue with amazement.

            _'How can he beat them so easily? He's not even fully healed, and he swats them away like they're nothing.'_

            Riku finally defeated the last of the Shadows, save for one, which disappeared into the ground, shrieking in its foreign language of darkness. He 'hmph'ed' and rested the Keyblade against his hip, still aware and waiting for any more danger.

            "That was…AMAZING!" Rikku rushed in to look Riku over, poking at his now healed shoulder. "The only one I've ever known to be able to use magic that strong was Lulu! And you heal as well as Yuna!" 

            Riku blinked, tilting his head. "Who?" Rikku looked up and replied,

            "Eh, I'll explain later." The she remembered something, and rushed over to the stove. "Just sit down at the table, dinner will be ready in a moment. _Bmayca__ fyed." Riku sat down in the simple wooden chair after dematerializing (Uh, is that a word?) his Keyblade, and watched the perky young girl run about the kitchen._

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            Rikku pushed a mouthful of pasta into her mouth, thinking. Riku had just told her about his search for a boy named Sora and a way to return home, to some place called Destiny Island. He had also explained a little about the Keyblade and Heartless, but made her promise that she wouldn't tell a soul. It would be meddling.

            But even though he explained some things about himself, the boy was still an enigma to Rikku. He didn't tell her how he had gotten separated from his friends and home, or even who Sora really was, instead switching the subject as soon as Rikku got the questions out of her mouth. She looked up from her half-finished meal to see that Riku was staring at her with intense green-blue eyes that rivaled her swirly emerald ones. She flushed a little, before breaking eye contact to stare at her plate.

            "Does that help you understand?" She looked up.

            "What?"

            "Does staring at your plate and turning as red as a tomato help you understand?" Riku clarified. Rikku fought the heat that was trying to rise to her cheeks and stuck her tongue out at Riku. Juvenile, perhaps, but the only way she could really respond to that without embarrassing herself.

            "Anyway, I have to find the Keyhole to this world," Riku said.

            "Well, I can come with you. I know a few people who might be able to help, although I'm not sure what this Keyhole thing really is." Riku opened his mouth to explain again. "No, don't bother. I've already made up my mind!" She grinned and stood, picking up the mostly empty dishes and setting them in the sink for washing. "We leave bright and early tomorrow!"

            Riku was left gaping at the odd girl for a moment, and then closed his mouth. After all, she could be of use in finding his way around.

            He just hoped he wasn't driven insane by her inane cheerfulness.

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            Riku was still sleeping in his bed, and Rikku didn't feel like waiting for him to get up. She poured a glass of water, and then dumped it on his head. He woke up spluttering and confused.

            "W-wha?"

            "Heh. Nice to see you up. I thought you were going to sleep forever!" She flashed her infamous grin. Rikku was dressed in her old traveling clothes; an orange top with clasps on the side and green shorts. Goggles hung loosely from her neck. "Come on, better get dressed if you want to leave soon Mr. … um…"

            "Riku."

            "Riku?" Rikku repeated. (Are you confused yet?)

            "Yes."

            "Weird. That's my name!" Riku rolled his eyes as she bounced around, muttering about how much they must have in common. He covered his head with the soft pillow to drown out her voice as she became progressively louder. 

            They shared only the name.

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            Later, the two were walking side by side down a long road cutting through a forest.

            "Where are we going?" Riku asked.

            "First," Rikku replied, "we have to find my dad. He can give us a lift to Yuna's place. Maybe someone there will know where the Keyhole is." Riku nodded.   It was going to be a long trip.

                                                                          ~*~
    
                                                 {hanarerarezuni ita yo  zutto
    
                                                 minareteru keshiki ga atta kara}
    
                                                 Forever unable to leave this place
    
                                                 Only because here there's a scenery that I'm familiar with
    
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                   Okay, that's it. Now maybe I can get working on… *glances at clock* Aw, crap. It's time for bed. O_O 


	3. Yunie!

Riku Meets Rikku?

Chapter 3

yukito the NM Syndromer

mewprout@yahoo.com

y.NM.S: Eh, sorry about the lateness of this update. I've had more writer's block. I can barely get past the first few paragraphs before I run out of good ideas. And I have no idea how the font changed. O_O 'Tis magic. But it's not magic how it screwed up the last part of the chapter. _

More Shout outs: Mellinia, Artymas, Molly-chan the Anime/Game fan, AnimePrincess, Ri Ri, and MusicFreakCQL21 - THANK YOU! *hug*

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X or Kingdom Hearts. If I did, I'd have the people at Squaresoft and Disney producing a sequel by now.

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            Riku paced the length of the sandy stretch of lane, impatiently tapping the Keyblade along his thigh. "How long is this… Cid going to take?" he grumbled at the Al-Bhedian girl. She fiddled with her goggles and shrugged.

            "Not long now." That had been her response every five minutes Riku had asked her in the last hour. Normally he wouldn't have been so impatient, but sitting around when he should have been finding a way back home was not what he wanted to do. But Rikku had talked him into it. Apparently, Cid had an airship, and from Rikku's description it sounded a lot like a Gummi ship. 

            Riku growled lowly, kicking out at a rock.

            "Don't take it out on the rocks. They didn't do nuthin'." Rikku said. The silver-haired boy flushed for a second before turning so his back was to her. He could still feel her eyes on him. 

            _'She has nice eyes…' he thought to himself, before shaking his head. __'There's no time to think like that.' There wasn't time for anything. Just as Riku was about to strangle the poor girl for a straight answer, a humming noise filled the air. It grew louder and louder, and a large shadow filled the sky. Rikku grinned and stood up, waving to the large ship-like machine in the sky._

            "Hey! Down here!" The airship hovered above them, and Riku strained his neck looking up at it. A rope ladder was lowered, and Rikku swiftly began climbing up. "Come on!" Riku looked up again before hesitantly following the young girl.

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            "So this is the guy you were telling me about over the radio?" A tall bald man in a yellow suit eyed Riku. 

            "Yes! His name's Riku, just like mine!" Riku muttered a 'nice to meet you' and busied himself in staring out a window. "He's kind of antisocial."

            "Hn." Cid turned to Rikku. "So why do you need to see Yuna?"

            Rikku sighed. "It's a long story. He'd be better off explaining it to you." She bounded out of the control room before either had the chance to protest.

            "So…Rikku, was it?" Cid addressed the Keyblade wielder.

            "It's Riku, with one 'K'."

            "Oh. Well, anyways, you better start at the beginning…"

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            Rikku strolled through the familiar hallways of the airship she had fondly named "Phoenix Flight".

            "Geez, I hope they get along," she said absently. As she turned the corner, she heard a sniffling noise coming form the storage room. The doors opened with a swish, and there was a little girl crying in one corner. The child looked up at Rikku when she entered, and tried to curl up further behind the boxes to hide.

            "Hey, it's okay." Rikku pulled the girl out and checked for injuries. Her clothes were a bit dirty, but other than that there were no signs that something was wrong. "Why are you hiding back here?"

            "I wanted to be alone," came the harsh reply.

            "Why?" Rikku prodded, sitting down beside the child.

            "Mommy's gone. The black monsters came and took her away, and then the Al-Bheds found me. They took care of me since then…" The girl lowered her head and didn't say anything else. Rikku waited until she fell asleep, and then picked her up, carrying her to one of the empty rooms.

            "Goodnight, little sister," Rikku murmured before closing the door.

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            Riku rested on the bed of one of the ship's numerous rooms. After telling Cid the entire story (leaving out the parts about his fall into darkness), he was met with a few surprises of his own. Apparently, the Heartless were already known of to most of the people in the world, and for some reason the "Fayth" had returned. From what Riku understood, the Fayth was a collection of people's souls, minds, and hearts that had willingly been given in order to form a summoning Aeon. The Fayth were supposed to not even exist anymore, freed from their endless dream, but a few had been sighted several times in the last week, trying to protect the cities from falling into the grasps of Heartless. The swish of the doors awoke Riku from his inner thoughts, and he looked up to see Rikku staring down at him.

            "Sleepy?" she said teasingly. Riku just sighed and closed his eyes again, not seeing fit to converse. "Fine," he heard the agitation in her voice, "We'll be landing in Besaid in a little while, so rest while you can."

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            As the huge flying machine floated down and landed in the clearing, a young woman rushed up to greet the two emerging from the ship. She wore a revealing white top with an attached pink hood, and shorts that reached her mid thigh. There was a dark blue cloth tied around her waist, and matching knee-high boots.

            "Yunie!" Rikku raced over to meet the young summoner, and gave her a warm hug.

            "It's so good to see you again!" the woman, apparently Yuna, returned the hug tenfold. She noticed Riku and smiled. "Ah, you must be Rikku's new boyfriend…" Rikku looked mortified.

            "Yu~nie!" she whined, "That's not true; I just met him, after all." Riku rolled his eyes, and shook Yuna's hand.

            "I'm Riku," he glanced mischievously in Rikku's direction, "And I'm not planning on hooking up with anyone like her anytime soon."

            "What's that supposed to mean?" the girl pouted more, stamping her foot. "Now you're both ganging up on me!" Rikku noticed how well she could imitate a 'Sora pout'. Yuna laughed.

            "Come on, you two can rest at my house for a little while." 

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            "So you think the appearance of the Aeons has a connection with the Heartless?" Rikku asked, wide eyed.

            Yuna nodded. "Yes. I remember seeing Valefor again just a few minutes after seeing my first Heartless."

            "What did Valefor do?"

            "He told me to get back to Besaid. I was following a Shadow Heartless when I ran into him. If I hadn't listened, I might be dead, with my heart in the possession of the Heartless." 

            Riku nodded, "That might be it. The Aeons might have come back to protect those with the purest hearts on this world. How they could possibly come back, if you "sent" them off, is a mystery to me."

            Yuna nodded, and then looked out the window. "It's getting late. I should be getting to sleep." Rikku stretched and nodded.

            "Er, just one question Yunie… Why are you dressed like that?" Yuna smiled.

            "I was planning to go and look for Tidus. We have a movie sphere that shows he might still be alive. I wanted to go undercover, so I decided to wear this!" She spread her arms, letting Rikku look at her outfit.

            "It's a big change. I admit, I almost didn't recognize you!" Riku watched as they got into a conversation about things he called "Girl Stuff", then decided it best to find the beds for himself.

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            The town of Besaid was silent, and cool wind whispered through the streets. Slowly, as if to avoid being detected by an unseen force, a shadow slinked out from under the porch of one house, and moved swiftly across the street. As it went, more and more pools of blackness joined its march to the house of the summoner.

            Riku, asleep in his bed, was jerked awake by a pang of sharp pain in his head.

            "Agh!" He sat up, and rubbed his sore head, calling the Keyblade into one hand. "What is it?" He whispered, trying not to wake the sleeping girl in the next bed. "What's so important that you have to wake me up in the middle of the night?" He knew before he received an answer. 

                                                                        Heartless.

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y.NM.S: Wee! Cliffhanger! ::smirk,smirk:: I'm such an evil bitch. Well, hopefully there'll be more action in the next chapter, rather than talking. Oh, and when Rikku called the girl "little sister", she didn't mean as an actual sibling. It was more of an affectionate term.


	4. PseudoMe

Riku Meets Rikku

yukito the NM Syndromer

mewprout@yahoo.com

y.NM.S: Okay, I think the last chapter could've been better, but right now I can't really think of anything creative, and I feel like I don't have any inspiration. I hate not being at my best when I write stories, but I also hate not updating at all. So, here's an attempt at a decent chapter.

Arigatou minna! *more huggles* I appreciate all the encouraging words, really. Oh, and Yuna's outfit is from FF X-2, go to www.rpgamer.com or www.rpgfan.com if you haven't heard. I'll try to make the chapters longer from now on, promise.

Okay, on with the story!"

Riku: Finally!

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            Riku was out of bed and standing in the living room of Yuna's simple house, waiting. The Heartless were organized creatures, they surely wouldn't gather here in such large groups for no good reason? What did they want?

            Riku tried to remember. There were lots of Heartless when the door of Destiny Islands was opened, although they seemed more interested in attacking Sora than they had in inspecting the pale door. There were always Heartless where the door leading to the heart of the world resided. So was it here, in Yuna's house?

            "Riku?" The silver haired boy spun at the quiet voice. Rikku was huddled by the hallway, shivering. "Those things… Heartless, are back." 

            "I know." He sighed, sounding more weary than annoyed. They looked like average Shadow Heartless, not a threat, but he was sick of fighting. He turned back to the hallway to see that Rikku had gone. Oh well. She'd be less likely to get hurt if she didn't try to jump in the fight. Riku opened the door to step outside and eliminate the monsters lurking outside, when Rikku joined him again, strapping the Godhand on her wrist.

            "Didn't think I'd let you go alone, did you?" She tried to flash him a cheerful grin, but just ending up looking scared. Riku sighed.

            "Fine. Don't expect me to protect you."

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            There were about twenty Heartless in all, Riku counted. He'd faced bigger groups before. He charged straight into the midst of the group, slashing one clear in half and kicking another away. He glanced up briefly to see the Rikku was faring better than expected; she was actually killing some of them. 

            That's when things went from good to bad.

            Out of the corner of his eye, Riku saw six of the Heartless standing in a circle, twitching their antennae at each other. Beating away more of the snarling creatures of Darkness, he turned to face the others. Their antennae twitched faster, and then looped around the others, tying them all together. They sunk back into the floor again, and the splotch on the ground turned ruby red. Then, slowly, a horned head rose from the ground, followed by a body and four long, clawed legs. The newly formed Nidhogg Heartless roared and lowered its head, looking like a bull getting ready to charge. 

            "Watch out!" Riku raised his hand, pointing at Rikku. "Shield," he muttered, and a wall of impenetrable wind covered Rikku, right before two Heartless leapt to attack. She, too, had obviously been paying more attention to the morphing Heartless than the fight. The Nidhogg rammed into Riku and sent him flying, but he was back on his feet quickly. He once again raised his hand, but this time brought it down in a swift motion. 

            "Thunder!" The sky rumbled and numerous bolts of electricity coursed from the sky, frying the Nidhogg as well as the remaining Heartless Rikku was fighting. The Nidhogg reared back on two feet, and exhaled fire at the two, seeming to be uninjured. "That's impossible!" Riku back flipped out of the way, landing in a crouched position.

            "Why isn't it dying?!" Rikku shouted.

            "What's going on?" Yuna stood by the door. The Nidhogg turned and stared at the still sleepy Summoner. More Heartless appeared around it, ranging from Soldiers to Invisibles. They stood as still as statues, never looking away from Yuna.  

            _"Summoner."  Several raspy, deep voices called out. __"Summoner, summoner."  They began chanting, and the Heartless started to advance. Riku felt his Keyblade become unsure. The Heartless seemed to be completely fixated on Yuna. Riku slashed a Soldier in half and watched as it vanished in a poof of swirling vapor, but the others kept coming, the dying Heartless's cry of pain. Riku took Yuna's hand, and pushed her before him. _

            "Run!" he yelled over the deafening chanting, "Something's not right!" 

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            The three began running through the tropical jungle of Besaid, with Riku bringing up the rear, slowing down anything that caught up to them.

            "Where are we going?" Riku called up to the two girls.

            "Somewhere where we should be safe," Yuna replied.

            Well, they knew this place a lot better than he did, Riku decided. If they thought there was a place they would be safe, then they would go there. In the distance, he saw a faint light shining through the trees. As they crashed through the forest, he saw the light was caused by several blazing flames. There were eight fires, each a different color, circling a raised platform that had odd pictures etched onto it.

            Rikku whispered, awed, "Where is this place?" Yuna didn't answer, but moved to the center of the display and started performing a sweeping dance, not unlike her Sending. Riku watched, mesmerized. This area held a lot of different energies, he felt overwhelmed by the power. He inspected some of the symbols etched onto the platform.

            The first, a bat-like creature with long hair pulled back and clasped with a metal barrette, the second was a fire-red hellhound. The third looked to be a unicorn of lightening, with silvery bolts of electricity coursing around it. The last one Riku got to look at was of a graceful woman with delicate blue skin, a chilling aura about her.

            "It's done." The voice cut through his thoughts.

            He looked up to Yuna, who had stopped dancing. "Excuse me?"

            "It's done," she repeated, "the Heartless shouldn't be able to reach us now." Riku somehow doubted that they could possibly be kept safe by a dance, but decided not to voice his opinions. He wouldn't have gotten a chance to, anyway.

            A bloodcurdling howl ripped through the air, and he spun to come almost face to face with three more Nighogg Heartless. They trained their vicious yellow eyes on him before charging….

            And running straight into an invisible barrier. Riku blinked, slowly sheathing his Keyblade in its otherworldly dimension before cocking his head to the side and grinning, amused by the Heartless's futile attempts. 

            "I guess we should be okay here."

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            The night was almost over, and still they hadn't left. They couldn't, they were surrounded by what would have looked like an endless sea of black ink. Rikku played tic-tac-toe with Yuna in the sand, glancing up occasionally to glare and stick her tongue out at the Heartless. Riku sat, alert, staring into the mass of Heartless. He felt something was going to happen, and he wanted to be prepared.

            The Heartless had been calling out to someone for the last few minutes, in a way not unlike how they had called to Yuna. The Keyblade kept shooting warning signals into his head, telling him to watch out.

            _'Something is heading this way,' it intoned, __'Be careful.'  _

            He froze, and gradually looked up to meet Rikku's wide terrified eyes as she started past him. Yuna was half sitting and half standing, obviously confused by something and trying to come to a decision. The violet haired Keyblade master stood and turned to face whatever they were so frightened of, only to see someone he wouldn't have expected.

            Himself.

            A dark version of himself stood just in front of the army of dark creatures. It had his hair and looks, but something was horribly unsettling about this ghost figure of Riku. His eyes shone a deep yellow, and a maniacal grin stretched across his face, giving the impression of insanity. Rikku whimpered and pointed to the shield Yuna had set up.

            "Look."

            Tiny cracks spread across the transparent wall. The pseudo-Riku raised his hand and pressed against the wall. It shattered. The Heartless surged forward and surrounded them, so close the three could almost suffocate, before backing off.

            The Riku image stood before them, glaring into Yuna's eyes. He held out his other hand, as if expecting her to give him something. Dark light pulsed from his palm as he formed a dark red Keyblade, similar to Sora's. Riku (the real one) rushed to his feet, parrying a blow meant for Yuna's heart.

            "Get away!" He yelled, trying his best to ward off the potent attacks.

            Rikku faced the dozens of Heartless, and rummaged in her pocket. "Please be there, please be there…" she whispered to herself before grinning triumphantly and drawing a small cylinder. She twisted a small knob on it and hurled it clear into the midst of the enemy. A few seconds passed before an earth shattering explosion destroyed most of them, via Rikku's tiny bomb. 

            "The petite Al Bhed cast a worried look over her shoulder before grabbing Yuna's hand and running while the Heartless were still confused. Riku grunted as he used all his strength in just blocking the slashes his other self produced.

            "You…" A small voice broke his concentration, and he was cut across the shoulder and thrown back. Some Soldiers moved forward to hold him down.

           "You are the reason I exist," the voice got louder and Riku was startled to find it was his pseudo-self that was talking. "It's your fault." The maddening grin didn't cease as the dark Riku raised the Keyblade, prepared to end Riku's life. 

            _'I was no one.' _

            Dark Riku did not get to finish the attack, as he was swept off of his feet by a blast of rainbow colored energy. The Heartless were disappearing around him, vanishing in swirls of smoke. A mighty dragon, with glittering scales the color of purple landed behind Riku. On his back rode Yuna and Riku.

            "Hurry!" a deep, gruff voice commanded. Riku didn't bother wasting time to ask questions, and leapt onto Bahamut's back. The dragon king flapped him large wings and shot off into the sky.

            Pseudo-Riku had since regained his composure, and stood watching them fly away. One Shadow came to inform him that they could still catch up. 

            "No." He answered. "Return to Sin. I will get them later." As the Heartless sunk back into the ground, he faded out of existence.

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            "Who is this?" Riku stared down at the purple dragon.

            "I am Bahamut." It answered! Riku jumped and yelped, and Rikku giggled at him. "I would have preferred to leave you there, if the Lady Summoner and her cousin had not insisted. I didn't want to bring any creature that has connections to the Darkness." Rikku ceased giggling.

            "Huh? What does that mean?" She looked over to Riku, who ignored her questions and stared off into the sky. She shrugged and sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. Riku blushed and glared at her.

            "What do you think you're doing?"

            "I'm tired. That's all." She shifted to look at Bahamut's face. "Where are we going?"

            "To someone who can explain all of this," was the dragon's only reply.

                                                                    /\/0 0/\/3 [-]45 (0/\/\3

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Phew! Chapter turned out okay; the plot thickens and we see what might be the beginnings of a beautiful relationship between Riku and Rikku. If anything was confusing, then say so in a review and I'll try to clear it up next chapter. If you can't read the text at the end, it's in leet and says, "No one has come." Okay, I'm gonna get started on chapters for my other stories. Ja ne!


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